Metal mold



Sept. 15; 1925.

A. B. NORTON METAL MOLD Filed May 25, 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 R O T N E VW m T R o N B N E L L A ma i- 12 46. Mm

H is ATTORNEYS Sept, 15, 1925.

A. B. NORTON METAL MOLD Filed May 25, 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR B.NORTON HIS ATTORNEYS Sept. 15; 1925. 1,553,628

A. B. NORTON METAL MOLD Filed May 25, 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet s ALLEN ORTONW,W+M

" ms ATTORNEY'S Sept. 15, 1925.

A. B. NORTON METAL MOLD Filed May 25, 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 ALLEN B.NORTON INVENTOR BY WA W HIS ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 15, 1925.

ALLEN B. NORTON, 0F CLEVELAND, OHIO.

METAL MOLD.

Application filed Kay 25, 1923. Serial No. 841,359.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALLEN B. NORTON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Cleveland, in the county of C'uyahoga, State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Metal Molds, of whichthe following is a specification.

This invention relates to metal molds for castin light weight metalshaving a high crysta lization shrinkage, as compared with iron. Inparticular, it is concerned with a. mold for casting thin walledarticles composed of aluminum or its alloys.

Heretofore it has been found diflicult to cast successfully articlescomposed of aluminum or aluminum alloys of the dimensions most desirablein articles such as cooking utensils. Such articles are ofvarious sizesand shapes but nearly all have relatively 1. such articles is that whenthe articles are cast on their sides or edges, their vertical dimensionsare so great that the molten metal must travel a considerable verticaldistance from the top of the mold to the bottom of the casting cavity,which distance, in many instances, is sufficient to cause agitation orbreaking up of the molten metal as it enters the casting cavity and theformation of pores, pits and other imperfections in the surface of thecasting which renders attainment of a polished surface free fromblemishes diflicult or impossible.

I have found however that articles of the class described having smoothsubstantially unpitted surfaces may be cast successfully of aluminum oraluminum alloys in permanent molds-and with walls or wall portions muchthinner than has previously been possible by suitably shaping andpositioning a gate with respect to the casting cavity, so that theentering molten metal need flow only a minimum distance through theshallow portions of the casting cavity in which the thin wall portionsof the article are cast. Furthermore I have found that by use of a newand improved form of gate, I cancast articles of the class describedhaving relatively large vertical dimensions substantially without any ofthe present disadvantages which have been partially enumerated above.

One object of my invention is to provide a new and improved gate forconducting molten, light weight metal, under the action of gravity, intoa casting cavity from a considerable height in a manner to preventleaping or splashing of the metal or other agitation thereof suflicientto result in entrapping air in the metal and to cause porosity orsurface pitting of the casting; to avoid heating certain parts of themold excessively; and to separate light weight, floating impurities fromthe molten metal before the metal enters the casting cavity.

Another object is to provide a new and improved gate for conductingmolten, light alloy metal into a vertically elongated casting cavityfrom a point well above the upper extremity of the cavity substantiallywithout harmful agitation.

Another object is to construct a multiple part mold having pivotallymounted bodies and a stationary or slidable mold body carrying a movable"core and co-operating therewith.

Another object is to construct a multipart mold comprising a three partmold body with two parts arranged side by side and the third partarranged to co-operate with one end of these parts.

Another object is to construct a metal mold for casting flat or shallowpan-like articles in which trimming of casting is reduced to a minimumor entirely obviated except at the points of attachment thereto of gatesand risers.

Another object is to provide a new and improved arrangement of gate andfeeder cavities with respect to a casting cavity for articles havingthin wall sections whereby the entering molten metal is caused to fiow aminimum distance through the shallow portions of the casting cavity.

Other objects will appear and be pointed out hereinafter.

In the drawings attached hereto and forming a part of thisspecification;

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of one form of mold constructed in accordancewith my invention.

Fig. 2 is a similar view but showing the pivoted mold bodies in a partlyseparated position and the core withdrawn preparatory to removal of acasting.

Fig. 3 is an elevation partly in cross section taken on line 33 of Fig.1 showing a casting in the casting cavity.

Figs. 4., 5, 6, 7 and 8 are fragmentary,

horizontal cross sections taken on lines 4-4,

5-5, 66, 77, and 8-8- of Fig; 3 showing relative sizes of various partsof the gate, and feeder cavities.

Figs. 10 and 11 are respectively outer end elevation and vertical crosssectlon s of the main core.

Fig. 12 shows in perspective a castlng as made in the improved mold.

Fig. 13 is a perspective view of an insert for the main core, and i Fig.14 is a diagrammatic view of a modified form of gate, feeder and coatingcavities.

In the drawings in'which I have illustrated one form of mold embodyingmy invention and adapted for casting a thin walled, shallow article suchas a frying pan, 1 indicates a mold base comprising a fiat top 2 andsuitable supporting legs or flanges 3. At the rear of base 1 a pivot pin4 is secured to the base in an upright position. Two similarly formedcomplementary mold bodies 5 are pivoted to in 4 by outstanding lugs 6,the mold bodies 5 being slidably seating on the base and being adaptedto swing about pin 4. 7 indicates another mold member removably securedto base 1 on the top surface thereof and in a position to engage andco-operate with one end of each of mold bodies 5 in certain positions ofthe latter. Suitable securing means for mold body 7 are indicated at 8,where bolts are shown passing through a'fiange portion 90f body 7 but ifdesired bolt 8 may be omitted and the mold body left free to be moved onbase 1. Suitable pilot or positioning means for determining the properpositions of the a several mold bodies may take various forms but I haveshown dowel pins 1 mounted in the top of base 1 and engaging in recessesin the meeting faces of the mold bodies which have been foundsatisfactory.

In the meeting faces of mold bodies 5, recesses are suitably formed toconstitute gate, feeder, casting and riser cavities when the bodies arein engagement with each other. These cavities are designatedrespectively by numerals 10, 11, 12 and 13 on Fig. 3. Preferably theinner face of mold body 7, or the surface thereof which is adjacent oneend of mold bodies 5, is substantially vertical, although if it isdesired'to form a casting in a position other than substantiallyvertical as is here shown, this surface may be correspondingly inclined.The inner face 14 of mold body 7 forms the edge or end walls of thecasting cavity 12, the iemainmg outer sides of the casting cavity beingformed by the walls of the mold bodies 5.

- this flange,

ably mounted therein in a substantial horizontal position. This core issubstantially circular in cross section, and is of sufiicient length sothat its inner end projects'beyond the inner surface14 of mold body 7and into casting cavity 12 where the inner end and exposed side-walls ofthe core constitute walls for forming the interior of the castingcavity. I

Core 15 is preferably hollow with its walls suitably proportioned inthickness to the size and nature of the casting desired. To facilitatemovement of core 15 in m'old body 7, as is desired. for ready removal ofthe casting from thecasting cavity, bracket 16 is secured to the moldbody 7 by suitable means indi -Mold body 7 carries a mo vable core 15slidvolved, as by hand wheel 19", the rod served 2 to move core 15relative to mold body 7. It will be obvious that other means may be usedfor actuating core 15 in mold body 7, but such means are consideredmechanical equivalents of the form herein illustrated and accordinglyare not shown or described. It will, of course, be obvious that the core15 may be dispensed with in molds for certain types of castings, forexample, fiat or relatively shallow articles, or flanged articles havinga flange extending away at an obtuse angle, in which case the mold body7 may present a continuous surface 14 to mold bodies 5 instead of beingcut away for a core as here shown.

22 designates a core pin adapted to seat on the top of the mold bodies 5and 7 and to t will be understood that other forms of core pins may beused when occasion demands, and that the nature of the casting be ingmade will to some extent determine the location of the pin with respectto the mold bodies. All such pins are however, considered to be theequivalent of the one herein shown.

Main core 15 has a substantially circular side surface adjacent theinner end thereof to form a substantially circular inner wall for thecasting. It will be observed however, that u on opposite sides of thecasting lias an outwardly ro'ecting irregular portion or lip. Toacilitate machining of the coreand thereby cheapen its costofmanufact-ure, inserts 15 having corresponding projections 15 have beenpro- The new and improved form and arrangement of the casting and risercavities contribute to the casting of articles requiring sound,non-porous smooth surfaced articles of the class described, with aminimum of grinding and other finishing operations being required. Byreason of the gate and feeder cavity communicatin with the castingcavity along the rear side thereof which corresponds to the bottom ofthe casting, it

will be evident that the only finishing operation required will be asevering of the gate metal and the bottom of the casting and risermetalfrom the handle lug. The cost ofthe castings is thus greatly reduced.

For articles of the class shown where the article is cast in an uprightposition and the molten metal is led under the action =of gravitythrough a considerable vertical distance, the improved form of gate andfeeder cavities illustrated are preferable.

The gate indicated as an entirety at 10 comprises a downwardly extendinginlet passage 10 inclined slightly to the vertical which communicates atits lower end with a restricted passage 10 which turns abruptly aboutpoint 20 and extends upward and rearward or away from the casting cavityto a point 21 above point 20, the passage thus serving as a means ofretarding and more or less controlling the speed of flow of the enteringmolten metal as well as forming a liquid seal which tends to trap outlight impurities and prevent their entry into the casting cavity. Frompoint 21 passage 10 curves downwardly and forwardly, or toward thecasting cavity, at a progressively increasing angle to the vertical andflaring out adjacent to the feeder cavity in a vertically elongated,relatively narrow fan shaped discharge passage 10 which preferably has asmall width as compared with other parts of the gate 10 andan uprightdimension approximately equal to the height of the feeder cavity 11. j

The feeder cavity preferably extends upwardly to a point above the mainportion of the casting cavity 12. Where projections from the maincasting are to be cast above the main casting cavity, as handle stud 28(Fig. 12), a riser cavity 13 may be rovided to insure proper filling ofthe stud cavity.

Feeder cavity 11 is joined to casting cavity 12 by a short narrowpassage 11 which may be formed conveniently by projecting ribs or ridgeson the faces of the mold halves, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

' Fig. 12 shows, in perspective, an article with gate and riser attachedas it appears when cast in a mold of'the foregoing de-i scription. 24indicates the casting proper which is a thin walled, shallow or pan-likearticle having a flat bottom 25, sides 26 pro vided atdiametricallyopposite points with outturned lips 27 and a short handle 28. 29indicates a quantity of metal forming a riser in communication withhandle 28. 30 indicates a quantity of metal formed in feeder cavity 11and connected to article 24; by a thin neck 31. A portion of the gatemetal formed in gate 10 is indicated at 32.

In the operation of the mold illustrated,

the mold bodies 5 are swung into assembled relation with mold bodies 7,and main core 15 and core pin 22 are brought to their proper positionswith respect to the mold bodies and casting cavity after the partsforming the cavities'have been coated with a suitable mold coatingcomposition. The mold bodies, and chiefly those in which the gate andfeeder cavities are formed, having first been brought to the desiredoperating temperature, as by applying a heating flame thereto or byother suitable means, a molten metal which may consist of aluminumor itsalloys or other light weight metals having relatively highcrystallization shrinkage as compared with iron is poured into the inletpassage 10. It immediately fills the pocket or passage 10 at the'bottomof passage 10, thus'efi'ectually sealing the control passage 10 andpreventing light impurities on the surface of the molten metal fromentering passage 10. The metal with its velocity materially decreasedflows upwardly through passage 10 and passes downwardly and forwardlyinto the discharge passage 10 at a velocity materially less than if ithad fallen from the top of the mold bodies without interruption, andthence flows into feeder and casting cavity smoothly and without leapingor sufficient velocity to cause harmful agitation, breaking up orsplashing' of the metal which may result in the entrapping of airtherein and the consequent production of porous or pittedcastings. As

cavity, a quantity of molten metal may be maintained in communicationwith the metal in the casting cavity until it has solidified tocompensate for-voids in the casting by shrinkage of the casting duringsolidification, the resulting casting being thus rendered substantiallyfree from crystallization shrinkage defects.

The first entering metal will presumably impinge against the part of thecore directly opposite the opening 11 but due in part to theconfiguration of the gate subsequently entering metal will flow onto thetop of the molten metal already in the casting cavity, and successivelystrike against higher parts of the core thus avoiding the excessiveheating of certain portions of the mold or core. However, I haveprovided a boss 23 on the core adjacent the point of first contact ofthe molten metal therewith'for the double purpose of rapidly dissipatingheat from the face of the core in contact with the first entering moltenmetal and for providing a pad to which an insert could be attachedshould the outer face of the corebecome worn or corroded. In practicethis boss has not been found necessary however.

vAlthough the particular type of gate and feeder herein shown isparticularly applicable to the type of casting illustrated, (it may beutilized to advantage with other types of castings not illustrated,) itmay be utilized to advantage with other types of castings wherein thevertical height of the casting cavity is relatively large.

Furthermore, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that thisimproved form of gate and riser can be equally as well employed wherethe gate, feeder and casting cavities are in substantial alignmentinstead of being transversely positioned as shown herein. Vith sucharrangement of cavities, it is often possible to use only two movablemold bodies instead of three as here shown, and as an illustration ofsuch molds reference is made to Patent 1,296,588 granted March 4, 1919,to J. H. Bamberg.

The arrangement ofthe gate and feeder cavities at substantially rightangles to the medial part of the casting cavity is of especialimportance where the casting has a thin section, since it is in accordwith the principle of causing the molten metal to flow a minimumdistance thru narrow or shallow casting cavities. With the illustratedarrangement of cavities the molten metal flows each way laterally fromthe feeder cavity thustraveling the minimum distance thru the narrowcavity to reach all parts of the castin cavity. Somewhat similar resultscould ie obtained by feeding metal into oposite edges of the castingcavity thus causmg the metal to flow from opposite sides toward themedial portion of the casting cavity.

If desired the oppositely located feeder cavities may be supplied byasingle gate outside the casting cavity as is indicated diagrammaticallyin Fig. 14 where 33 indicates a casting cavity, 34 the opposite feedercavities, 35 the gate and 36 a passage connecting the two feedercavities.

I do not wish to be understood as limiting my invention to theparticular article shown but on the contrary contemplate the casting ofmany different sizes and types of articles, for culinary and other usesand including pans of various depths, griddles, covers, plates andsimilar articles.

'Having thus described the invention in some sufiicicnt detail to permitthose skilled in the art to practice the same, what is desired to besecured by Letters Patent is defined by what is claimed.

\Vhat is claimed is:

1. A mold for articles of the class described comprising in combinationa mold base. a mold body on the top thereof, a main core in the saidmold body, and other mold bodies cooperating with each other and thefirst said mold body and core to form gate feeder, and casting cavities.

2. A mold for articles of the class described comprising in combination,a mold base, a mold body seated on' the top thereof, a main core movablymounted in the said mold body, and other mold bodies seated on the moldbase and cooperating with each other, the first said mold body and thecore to form gate, feeder and casting cavities.

3. A mold for articles ofthe class described comprising in combination amold base, a mold body seated on the top thereof, a main core in thesaid mold body, and other mold bodies pivoted to and slidable on thesaid base and cooperating with each other and the first said mold bodyto form gate, feeder and casting cavities.

LA mold for articles of the class de scribed comprising in combination,a mold base, a mold body seated in the top thereof a main core movablymounted in the said mold body, a vertical pivot pin attached to the saidbase and mold bodies pivoted on the said pin and seated for slidingmovement on the said base.

5. A mold for articles of the class described comprising in combination,a mold .base, a mold body seated in the top thereof,

a main core horizontally slidable in the said mold bodies,and other moldbodies slidably mounted on the said base and cooperating with each otherand the first said mold body and core to form gate, feeder and castingcavities.

6. A mold for articles of the class described comprising in combinationa mold base, a mold body secured to the said base a main core slidablymounted in the said mold body, an upright pivot pin secured to the saidbase, mold bodies pivoted to the said pin and. slidable on the saidbase, and means for moving the main core in the first said mold body.

7. A mold for articles of the class described comprising in combinationa mold base, a mold body secured to the said base a main corehorizontally and slidably mounted in the said mold body, an uprightpivot pin secured to the said base and other mold bodies pivoted to thesaid pin and slidable 0n the said base, and means for moving the maincore in the first said mold body.

8. In a mold for casting shallow pan like articles, the combination witha mold base, of a mold body mounted thereon having a substantiallyvertical inner face, a main core in the said mold body projectinginwardly beyond the said inner face and adapted to form the innersurfaceof a shallow, pan-like casting cavity, and other mold bodiesmounted on the said mold base to engage with the inner face of the firstsaid mold body, the meeting faces of the last said mold bodies being cutaway to form the outer surfaces of the gate, feeder and castingcavities.

9. In a mold for casting shallow pan like articles, the combination witha mold base of a mold body mounted thereon havin a substantial verticalinner face, a main core slidable horizontally in the said mold bod andadapted to project inwardly beyon the said inner face to form theinner'surface of a shallow, pan-like casting cavity, and other moldbodies swingably and slidably mounted on the said mold base and ada tedto engage with the inner face of the rst said mold body, the meetingfaces of the last said mold bodies being cut away to form the outersurfaces of the gate, feeder and casting cavities.

10. In a mold for castin an-like articles, the combination of a moldbase, a plurality for the eastin cavity, and a core mounted in the lastsaid mold body and projecting inwardly beyond the said plane surface,the inner end and sides of the said core constituting certain of theinner walls of the said casting cavity.

11; In a mold for casting culinary utensils, the combination of a. moldbase, a plurality of mold bodies slidably mounted thereon having gate,feeder and casting cavities formed therebetween, one mold body havinga-substantially plane surface to form end walls for the casting cavity,and a core horizontally and slidably mounted in the said mold body andprojecting inwardly beyond the said plane surface, the inner end andsides of the said core constituting certain of the inner walls of thesaid casting cavity, and means for actuating the said core.

'12. A mold for articles of the class described comprising incombination a mold base, an upright pivot pin secured thereto, moldbodies pivoted to the said pin and slidable on the said base, a moldbody secured to the said base and cooperating with the said pivoted moldbodies, and a main core circular in cross'section adjacent its inner endand horizontally and slidably movable in the said mold body, the saidcore having inserts in a side thereof adjacent the inner end.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto aiiix my signature.

ALLEN B, NORTON.

